Tarnished Gold
by Invader-Hime
Summary: A Wolves and Witches spinoff ONE SHOT for now. After being cursed by his half brother, Michael Morningstar runs away from his previously sheltered life and into the arms of an enchantress with questionable goals. AU MikeXCharmcaster


Tarnished Gold

By Chibi Hime

Ben 10 (c) MOA

The enchantress has been following him for over and hour and he doesn't even know it. He is the worst werewolf she's ever seen. She is ridiculously close to him and he hasn't even smelled her yet. He keeps looking behind him, then running faster in the opposite direction. He's got a drawstring bag hanging from his jaws. He's a runaway. How original. A cruel smile crosses her lips. He's so clueless...there is incredible potential there. Potential for her. She brushes her white hair out of her face and decides to close in on her prey. Purple light has appeared in the eastern sky. It won't be long now. He's going to have to stop whether he wants to or not in another fifteen or twenty minutes. That's when she'll make her move. He'll be putty in her hands. That's how she wants him.

Michael Morningstar has never gone hungry. He's never been wet or cold. He's never been alone. His father was there to help him, always. Now he has been all of these things in a single night. He'd been kept in isolation at his father's estate for three months with only the elder Morningstar to keep an eye on him. He'd been chained to the floor like a criminal, with chains rubbing his flesh raw as he shifted between forms. There had been no one to comfort him, no one to fight...he was utterly alone. While he had raged for an hour or so, he eventually tired. His mind returned and he lay in the dark of his room by himself with the full moon's light taunting him through the window. He'd howled mournfully, hoping to catch the attention of someone...anyone...hoping they would respond. No one did.

He knows he has a brother...errr...a half brother, but he doesn't blame him for not responding even though he isn't far away. His condition is kept from everyone, even the staff. His father tells them he had a mental breakdown from being away from home so long. He'd rather have them think his son insane that some monstrous freak.

Mike tried to carry on with the farce, but he couldn't do it. Every day he felt the increasing isolation gnawing at his mind...his father's perpetual rejection was the worst. So after two months, Mike began to pretend everything was alright. He stopped sulking, started fixing himself up...anything to get his father to lower his guard. At long last, he did and Mike had run away into the woods with only a single pair of clothes and a small drawstring bag filled with money and some meager supplies. He didn't know where he was going or if he would ever come back.

Tonight, he covered exceptional ground. He hadn't eaten yet and his stomach complained loudly. He was glad he had his fur...for once. The air was misty and damp. Without his golden pelt, he would assuredly be uncomfortable at this point. He looked up and saw the light in the sky. Mike's flesh gave an involuntary cringe. The pain of it was excruciating. The bending bones, the reshaping face, the twisting limbs...it burned and hurt like nothing else in the world ever had...or ever would as far as he was concerned.

He shortly found a clearing that will do nicely. It is surrounded by tall trees and thick underbrush. He'll be able to change back into his clothes and carry on just as any other traveler.

"Well...what do we have here?"

Mike's fur stood on end.

It was a young woman's voice. He leapt around and saw before him the most eerily gorgeous girl he had ever seen. She was wrapped in a tight fuchsia coat and her hair was a glistening, alabaster white. Her eyes were purple, almost glowing. She took his breathe away. Mike felt a cramp on his insides and he knew the time was near. He looked about for a place to hide, but she seemed to have cornered him, if that was possible. Mike's mind panicked.

_Go away! I don't want you to see! _he thought roughly.

The girl smiles.

"Why not. I think you are beautiful the way you are. Can't you see how your fur glistens in the moonlight?"

She smiled at him and knelt before him.

Mike swallowed and whimpered. How did she get so close so fast? Was she a witch? What was she going to do to him?

"Nothing silly. I'm a friend. I'm going to help you. You look like you've been traveling a long time and are in need of rest...and a friendly face," she laughed her voice was like a silver bell ringing.

_Why? I'm a monster _his thoughts sounded defeated, ashamed.

This would be easy.

Her large, expressive eyes suddenly looked tearful and compassionate.

"Who told you that? They were wretched! They just can't see how special your gift is," she said, sounding very sure of herself.

Mike wanted to believe her. He wanted to so much that he did.

When the sun rose and the spasms came, she was there. When his bones snapped and he cried out, she did not turn away. She didn't stare. She held him in her dainty arms. She whispered soothing words into his ears. She whispered her name and his together. She wiped away his sweat and tears that came with the exertion the shifting transformation took on his body.

She stroked his shifting face and kissed his lips gently as soon as they were human enough. She saw the adoration in his blue eyes and she knew he was hers. She swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat from the contact. He's so disgusting and so pathetic that he really does believe everything she says. She can't believe how easy it was. She decided to end the conquest quickly.

"I love you just the way you are. I accept you for who and what you are," she said, smiling and running a hand through his golden hair.

The freak in her arms looks like he's going to cry. He clings to her, believing every word she said. It was such an easy lie. It was easy...it will be easy. Now she has someone loyal to her. Someone who loves her unquestioningly and will do anything she says. This was a useful pawn to have

Her uncle won't know what hit him.


End file.
